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Right to Information Wiki Blog
Privacy and RTI: Filing Smart in the DPDP Era (2026 Guide)
Did you know? A well-drafted “aggregate” RTI wins almost every time, even after the 14 November 2025 amendment. The Digital Personal Data Protection Rules, 2025 did not touch Section 8(2), the public-interest override. That clause is still your lifeline.
In one line. The Digital Personal Data Protection Rules, 2025, notified on 14 November 2025, substituted the text of Section 8(1)(j) of the RTI Act. A steep share of Q1 2026 RTIs have been refused on the strength of that substitution. This guide shows how to draft an application the Public Information Officer cannot refuse by reflex.
What that means in practice.
- Names trigger rejections. Naming an officer or a citizen in the question is the fastest route to a Section 8(1)(j) refusal.
- Aggregates and functions win. Ask about the department's spending, the scheme's cost, the tender's award criteria, not about who drew what.
- Section 8(2) is intact. The public-interest override survives the amendment and must be read into every refusal.
Updated: 20 April 2026. Rejection rates reported above 40 per cent in the first quarter of 2026.
Economic Survey 2025-26 RTI Re-Examination: Proposals, Backlog Crisis, and 2026 Implications
Did you know? Every year, Indians file well over ten lakh (one million) RTI applications. A share of these reach the Central and State Information Commissions as second appeals \u2014 and the pendency there has become the working bottleneck of the Act.
DPDP Act vs RTI Conflicts: The 2026 Legal Landscape
Did you know? On 14 November 2025, a single notification rewired the Right to Information Act's most-invoked exemption. The proviso that said “information that cannot be denied to Parliament cannot be denied to a citizen” was removed. Five months on, the practical effect is measurable.
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